According to the present invention, it is provided an interactive device comprising a display, a camera, an image analyzing means, said interactive device comprising means to acquire an image with the camera, the analyzing means detecting at least a human face on the acquired image and displaying on the display at least a pattern where the human face was detected wherein the interactive device further comprises means to determine a halo region extending at least around the pattern and means to add into the halo region at least one interactive zone related to a command, means to detect movement onto the interactive zone and means to execute the command by said device.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A man-machine interface method executed by an interactive device comprising a display, a camera, and an image analyzing means, the method comprising: (a) capturing an image with the camera; (b) analyzing the image to detect at least one human face; (c) determining a measurement parameter associated with the human corresponding to the human face; (d) displaying on the display a visual representation of the human face where the human face was detected; (e) defining a plurality of interactive zones, each interactive zone being associated with a command to the device, each interactive zone being placed at a distance from the human face based on the measurement parameter and representing a distance accessible by the arm of the human corresponding to the human face; (f) detecting an activation movement in one of the plurality of interactive zones; (g) executing the command associated with the interactive zone in which the activation movement was detected by the device; and (h) iteratively repeating steps (a) though (d) in order to maintain a constant ratio between the human face and the interactive zones in order to allow a constant user behavior while entering commands to the interactive device as a user moves relative to the camera.
2. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 , wherein the size of the human face on the captured image is used as the measurement parameter.
3. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 , wherein an emitter and a receiver are used to determine a sensed distance of the human face to the camera by measuring a signal delay between the emitter and the receiver, and the sensed distance is used as the measurement parameter.
4. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 , wherein the detection of the human face comprises the steps of: capturing a plurality of images and selecting the moving portions of the images; and analyzing the moving portion to detect the human face.
5. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 , further comprising the steps of: analyzing the captured image and comparing it with predetermined objects; and in case of positive detection, displaying commands related to this object.
6. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 , wherein it comprises the further steps of: analyzing the captured image to detect a second human face; and in case of positive detection, displaying commands related to interaction between two users.
7. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 , wherein the interactive device comprises a database with stored faces related with particular users, this method comprising the further steps of: analyzing the detected human face to recognize a stored face; and in case of positive recognition, displaying commands related a particular user associated with the stored face.
8. The man-machine interface method of claim 7 , wherein it comprises the further steps of: recording selections of the particular user to create a selection history; and proposing commands according to previously recorded selections of the particular user.
9. The man-machine interface method of claim 7 , wherein the database with stored faces is built incrementally as new users interact with the device.
10. An interactive device comprising a display, a camera, and a processor, said processor being configured to perform the steps of: (a) acquiring an image with the camera; (b) detecting at least one human face on the acquired image; (c) determining a measurement parameter associated with the human corresponding to the human face; (d) displaying on the display a visual representation of the human face where the human face was detected; (e) defining a plurality of interactive zones, each interactive zone being associated with a command to the device, each interactive zone being placed at a distance from the human face based on the measurement parameter and representing a distance accessible by the arm of the human corresponding the human face; (f) detecting an activation movement in one of the plurality of interactive zones; (g) executing the command associated with the interactive zone in which the activation movement was detected by the device; and (h) iteratively repeating steps and means (a) though (e) in order to maintain a constant ratio between the human face and the interactive zones in order to allow a constant user behavior while entering commands to the interactive device as a user moves relative to the camera.
11. The interactive device of claim 10 , wherein the size of the human face on the captured image is used as the measurement parameter.
12. The interactive device of claim 10 , further comprising an emitter and a receiver, wherein the emitter and the receiver are used to determine a sensed distance of the human face to the camera by measuring a signal delay between the emitter and the receiver, and the sensed distance is used as the measurement parameter.
13. The interactive device of claim 10 , wherein the processor: acquires a plurality of images and analyzes only moving portions of the images to detect the human face.
14. The interactive device of claim 10 , further comprising: a database containing object definitions; wherein the processor compares the acquired image with the objects stored in the database; and in case of a positive comparison, displays commands related to the object.
15. The interactive device of claim 14 , wherein the object definition is a human face of a particular user, and commands displayed are related with this particular user.
16. The interactive device of claim 14 , wherein the processor is configured to record into the database the selections of the particular user to create a selection history, and to propose commands according to the selection history.
17. The interactive device of claim 14 , wherein the database with stored faces is built incrementally as new users interact with the device.
18. The interactive device of claim 10 , wherein the measurement parameter is selected from the group consisting of a size of the human face and a distance between the sensor and the human face.
19. The man-machine interface method of claim 1 , wherein the measurement parameter is selected from the group consisting of a size of the human face and a distance between the sensor and the human face.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
February 14, 2008
February 28, 2012
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